Live blog of David Cameron's Party Conference speech

Highlights, not verbatim:

4.03pm: Final words: "Better times will lie ahead"

4.02pm: We don't promise new dawns. I'm a man with a plan not a miracle cure. I'll stick to my guns and not bottle it when times get tough. Leadership, judgment, character are what Britain needs. These are tough times but I'm optimistic because of Britain's innovative spirit.

4.01pm: We are a changed party and united. We are making progress in the north. We have won the Mayoralty of London. The Crewe & Nantwich by-election. A metropolitan authority in the North East of England.

3.57pm: With the inspiring help of Iain Duncan Smith we have built our party as the party of social justice.

3.55pm: That 5m people of working age are out of work is bad for our economy, society and for those people. The benefits system encourages a benefits culture. We will end the something for nothing culture. If you don't take a reasonable job offer you risk losing your benefits.

3.51pm: When families fail a good school is the best second chance for a child. There aren't enough good schools - particularly at the secondary school level and in our cities. That's why Michael Gove will break up the state school monopoly. The election of a Conservative government will mean "a declaration of war" on the idea that all must have prizes.

3.46pm: Many state interventions have been good but many state interventions are now having diminishing returns. Today we must look at the causes of social problems. The family is the best welfare system there is. We will back marriage in the tax system because of the commitment it embodies.

3.45pm: Yes we need to be tough on crime but come with me to Wandsworth prison and yes, you meet the mugger but you also meet the young man who has never been loved or the middle-aged man who has never succeeded.

3.42pm: My great mission is to be as radical on social reform as Margaret Thatcher was on economic reform. I don't know what planet people are living on when they say our society is not broken. [Lists social problems]. Our angry, harsh culture of incivility sums it all up.

3.42pm: We will be the party of the NHS.

3.40pm: Reads a letter from Alan Johnson outlining four bureaucratic ways of complaining about the NHS but not one way of letting people die with dignity.

3.37pm: We will keep our manifesto promises and we fight the European elections on a pledge to hold a referendum on Lisbon.

3.34pm: People are sick of the sleaze in politics. MPs voting on their salaries and the "wretched" John Lewis list have to go. All of our MEP candidates must sign a pledge on code of conduct.

3.33pm: The problem is Labour and that won't be changed by Miliband or Balls or Harman.

3.32pm: Huge applause for his attack on Labour for believing that people are on their own if government is not at their side.

3.30pm: The Tories have two big missions: Protecting the NHS and mending our broken society.

3.29pm: The Government's role isn't just about tax and spend. I don't believe in laissez-faire. When the south-east is overheating and the north is overheating it's wrong to give the go-ahead to a third runway at Heathrow. That's why we'll build a new high speed rail link to rebalance the economy.

3.28pm: The flight of companies is a big problem. We must help businesses by cutting corporation tax and making it simpler.

3.27pm: I understand business. I admire entrepreneurs. I go to bed with one every night (and I wake up with the same one every morning!).

3.25pm: These changes will help us get taxes down but I'm a fiscal
conservative and will not cut taxes by increasing borrowing
recklessly. I want to give people some of their money back.

3.23pm: We need to eliminate waste and ineffective quangoes. I'll be
asking my shadow ministers to review every budget. More important are
the long-term reforms that will improve the public services and reduce
long-term demands on government.

3.20pm: Brown made two big errors. His first big mistake was the
confused arrangements he created for financial supervision. His second
big mistake was to become a spendaholic. I've studied economics at a
great university. I've worked in business and in the Treasury. But
principles are the most important things. Sound money. Low taxes.

3.19pm:
We got to the current mess because the borrowing tap was turned on and
left running. The bankers behaved badly too. They will face their day
of reckoning.

3.16pm: In 1979 Jim Callaghan had held many great offices but
thankfully the country chose Margaret Thatcher. If we listened to the
argument about experience we'd never change government. We'd have
Gordon Brown as PM forever. I won't go on there are people in balconies
up there!

3.14pm: I have a traditional belief in the rule of law and sound
money. But I'm also a man of a time who believes in a clean
environment. We'll never be truly rich as long as much of the rest of
the world is poor. The popular thing may work for a while but the
right thing will always be right.

3.12pm: The family is the most important thing to me. I believe
passionately in the Union. I don't want to be Prime Minister of England
but of the United Kingdom. Public service is a good way of making a
difference. I'm not an ideologue. My party sometimes can get things
wrong. Other parties can do things right.

3.11pm: We'll only be a strong society if we are a responsible society.

3.09pm: The Conservative Party is about freedom. That's why we stood
up for Georgia. But freedom can't turn into a belief that we don't have
a responsibility to others. I'm not a libertarian, I'm a Conservative.
The key word for me is responsibility.

3.08pm: I ask the Government not to appeal yesterday's judgment that will allow Gurkhas to live in Britain.

3.07pm: We will give our troops the equipment they need and their families the care they deserve.

3.04pm: Let's not forget that in this difficult financial time we
are a nation at war. If we fail in Afghanistan the Taliban will come
back and the terrorist training camps will come back and so with them
the slaughter. We back our troops and their mission 100%.

3.02pm: We will work with Labour in a bipartisan way to help Britain
through the immediate difficulties. It's our political duty not to
hold back from pointing out the errors that have led Britain to this
point. The British people deserve an explanation and a choice.

3pm: David Cameron begins speaking.

***

2.56pm: Liam Fox introduces a video paying tribute to the armed
forces. There are role models in our country, he says, and they are
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2.50pm:
Sayeeda Warsi wishes religious communities greetings for a series of
festivals and then introduces a video for the social action project
that has been taking place at Welsh House Farm in Birmingham.

2.35pm: Various PPCs are speaking before DC's speech. Jim McConalogue pays tribute to the intro made by his fellow CentreRighter Louise Bagshawe.

2.21pm: George Osborne says his two year-old judgment - ruling out up front, unfunded tax cuts - has been vindicated.

2.20pm: George Osborne on the Daily Politics: "I don't agree with much that Simon Heffer writes and that's being polite."

2.05pm:
Representatives queueing to get into Cameron's speech. Many won't be
able to get in but will be watching via video in overflow halls. You can watch it live on conservatives.com. A bank of PPCs are sat behind Mr Cameron.

I'm not usually gushing with praise for David Cameron but so far so good. He's really succeeding in portraying himself as a statesman and a serious politician with a chance of becoming the next Prime Minister. Not spectacular stuff, but I reckon it's the best that he could deliver, given the economic circumstances.

Don't you think your party leader promises an awful lot given he's from a supposed tax-cutting party?

More flexible working hours
A high speed rail network
More funding for defence equipment
More schools
No cuts to the NHS
A new relationships quango to ensure Big Brother can keep an eye on our marriages

Glad to see even the Tories recognise that small government is well and truly dead.

The speech was sincere and incisive. This was a presentation scoping out what a Conservative government will feel like. Not every Tory will agree with everything that was said, but that reinforces that the message was genuine and there is a man with a real plan to improve Britain.

Fantastic speech - now get out on the streets, folks, and campaign for a Cameron government. We have the ideas to transform Britain for the better. Canvass, deliver, write letters to the press, donate money, talk to your neighbours, friends and relatives, blog - do whatever it takes to get this dreadful Labour government OUT! Over to you...

If the referendum pledge extended beyond Lisbon ratification, I'd have no reservations, and would even campaign for Cameron (both GE and Euros), however discounting that, Cameron has done more than enough to call time on Labour's time in office.

So, based on the lack of a post-ratification strategy, it will be Tory for the GE, and UKIP for the Euros.

I'd certainly urge ukippers to vote Tory in the GE and Tories to vote UKIP in the euros.

Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Cameron exuded maturity - and showed up Brown for the childish man he is. Cameron is so much better than any commentators convey - a bit like Shakespeare - he's so much more intelligent, has more breadth of vision, more subtlety, more wit than the paltry press pack around him. The handling of the experience issue was masterly (and very funny). And although he didn't namecheck Gordon Brown much, criticism of him was implicitly in nearly every sentence. I watched it on the DP and it was awful to hear Nick Robinson sound off straight after this magnificent speech that this was a 'back to the future' 1980s Daily Mail speech. For one moment Cameron lifted us out of all the spin and articulated matters of real concern. But then the BBC has to spoil it all.

Gezmond I know you're a troll and insincere, but how can you even pretend that the speech was PR and not substantial? Amazing really that Labour and the Brownite hacks could drool over the appearance of Sarah Brown to introduce her husband without any of them saying it was a PR stunt, even tho' it was the cheesiest of PR ploys. Cameron comes on and gives a speech without tricks and suddenly it's all about PR. I suspect the absence of substance resides in your braincells.

Strange “passing leftie” is missing – although as “passing leftie” is constantly posting on here, I think they’re more like a resident leftie.

Gezmond007 constantly sneers at the Conservatives, and then wonders why people think he’s a Lefty.

Northern Monkey is part of Labour Home. Like Becky I missed this alleged suicide joke. And I’d like to know what Northern Monkey thinks about Polly Toynbee’s remarks – as reported in the Evening Standard on 16 September 2008: “Polly Toynbee jokes about City boys jumping off buildings at last night's Standard debate, Polly Toynbee surprised the audience with an off-colour joke about possible suicides among City types in the wake of the Lehman collapse.
The Guardian columnist quipped that she wouldn't mind seeing a few more pin-stripes leaping off buildings.

“Here's her quote: "Now that the credit crunch is turning perhaps into a depression - although actually we've seen rather a dearth of bankers jumping out of window ledges and maybe we could see a bit more of that. There's not much mea culpa about - or if they do they've got golden parachutes".”

A good, rousing speech, and dare I say it actually sounding like a Conservative ( and whisper it...a bit Thatcherite?) Not been a big fan before ( voted for DD) but he has now won me over, and shall happily renew my membership when due next month!

The Party Leader's final speech is always difficult, as it has to address several different audiences. This year, circumstances made it even more difficult, and I believe DC handled it superbly - I don't agree with every last dot and comma, but the overwhelming majority of the content was thoughtful, direct and sincere.

I also liked the fact that from what I saw via ConsHome's link, there was no fancy, overthetop set.

I am astonished how easily readers here are pleased. We are at a turning point in our nation's existence and Cameron barely mentioned the subject and nobody seems to care. Forget all the silly people who are here to sabotage the blog - ignore them. But I wish the party well and I'm now profoundly depressed.

I was pleased yesterday - he spoke like a national leader. Today he was a doorstep salesman . What a crashing disappointment.

Iain, Christina. I agree that is what we need at some point, but that time is not during a 1-hour speech at the end of a conference. That sort of thing would play well with the political junkies, but the criticisms we heard, combined with the interesting solutions proposed to stop it happening again, struck the balance right for most people I'd imagine.

An awfully slow and tiresome start, I almost legged it. However did warm up rather well, eventually well delivered. Two very good digs at Gordon after about 10 mins, but very lowkey. Thought at the time the man can't do sombre gravitas at all, but then livened up a bit and at about 30 thought might as well see where it goes. Off to examine the text.

But that was what he promised yesterday and the political commentators will make mincemeat of him for that broken promise!

As for "the criticisms we heard, combined with the interesting solutions proposed to stop it happening again" WHAT criticisms and WHAT solutions? The live feed was continually broken and CH:'s live blog didn't mention the subject at all.

All the rest was HE cares about- the touchy-feely stuff. Let me tell you people are scared right now and need some leadership which was sadly missing.

In the public arena Cameron has a disadvantage compared to Brown in the matter of experience.
Some of the other qualities which Cameron might have stressed to his advantage, he has damaged by his behavior over the last year.

For example:
(a)This week, at a time when William Hague stated that he would push for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, David Cameron would not give a Yes/No answer to television's Andrew Marr when being interviewed.
(b) Earlier he promised to take us out of a grouping of European pro-integration centre right parties, only to state later that he would delay any action for a number of YEARS!

These kinds of actions do not give confidence. They rather lead to the conclusion of a 'smooth operator'.

Did anyone pick up on the fact that DC had his full Shadow Cabinet seated behind him on stage, while GB would not dare put his "Novices" behind him for fear they would stab him in the back in the middle of his so called substantive speech?